thoughts from a passionate fundraiser

October 13, 2009

At first I was excited about Charlotte's Mission Possible - a heady and well sanctioned effort to..

"Charlotte Mission Possible is a joint effort by local media outlets to
help Charlotte residents understand the charitable needs of the
community, and find ways to help."

...I thought hey what a great idea - after all the hullabaloo about our United Way transgressions (unforgivable) and us almost losing our (awesome) Charlotte Symphony - this is what we need - some fresh, bold, think different ideas. The premise was to solicit ideas bottom up and top down -- you needn't be a non profit pro to fix this problem - and so hundreds of people submitted ideas which were dutifully highlighted in the Charlotte Observer. I have to say the majority of the ideas (I read) were rational and prudent. Alas for me...I don't remember saying "Hey that idea is NUTS, but it just might work!"

Therein lies the problem.

Non Profits in my experience act (they must) a bit lot like For Profits - after all they're both seeking revenue/donations and must dutifully manage acquisition costs of said revenue/donations. Just think about how similar the Campaign goals (NP) and Sales goals (FP) really are - both strive for/want more at the lowest cost. That's OK, I just think NPs need to come to terms with this reality, embrace it. Get comfortable employing "for profit" strategies towards a higher purpose.

So why do I think Mission Possible will drift into Mission Improbable? After months of effort a few ideas boiled down - one being a central website as The Charlotte Observer reports..."Put them (Charlotte charities) all on one Web site where people can find them quickly to donate or volunteer." hmmm...not a bad "possible" idea - which is subsequently doused with the cold water of "improbability"...(from the article)

"The technology for a "nonprofit portal" certainly exists. But experts
saycharities have shown little interest in making it happen.

Here's why: If one Web site accepts donations for all local
charities, that site's owner could control the donor lists. And experts
say charities, which treat such lists like gold, rarely share such
information.

"It sounds like a good idea, but nobody wants
their donors to go anywhere else," said Chris Meade, executive director
of the Charlotte office of NPower, a national nonprofit that helps
charities harness technology. He called charities' reluctance to pool
donor information "the big hairy monster" blocking online cooperation."

Blah fear Blah fear Blah fear... As Chris Meade says.."charities' reluctance to pool
donor information (is the) "the big hairy monster". Think about that as
if alzhiemers is going to steal away the Amnesty International donor (and so what if it does it works in reverse too)
I think this kind of fear (unfounded) thwarts change and worse cuts
short any budding initiative at the very first stumble or sign of failure - never letting ideas morph and grow. How many times have you (will you) hear "We tried social media but the ROI wasn't there, it's not for us."

Too many charities do covet and protect those gilded lists mostly so they can send out another inane/annoying email blast or 10,000 innocuous (or worse) mailers. (sure they work sometimes but then so does phishing sometimes). They won't inhabit (they visit) Twitter and Facebook for fear of saying the wrong thing or worse they don't know what to say**. Ultimately they do what has worked before (safe) even though it no longer works (risky). Kinda like the old adage..."Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM. But now you sure can get your head handed to you over a misstep on Twitter @fired!

**here's the perfect Tweet by the way: just talked with @bestfundraiser read what she's doing to break through donor fatigue here at greatidea.com

So back to Mission Possible - what did we expect - take some potentially great "grassroots" ideas
> boil them down > add a committee/panel/board > take the
teeth out - refine the ideas > present idea for approval >>
REPEAT.

No wonder I never found the gumption (spirited initiative) to submit Buttons of Hope to Mission Possible - I thought about it and then considered the number of ways it would be pooh poohed and ultimately shot down - like so many think different ideas.

Oh and just for fun here's my take on the Mission Possible statement...

"Charlotte Mission Possible is a jointan all out effortby local media outlets tohelpwake upCharlotte residentsunderstandto the sharedcharitable needs ofthetheircommunity. We willfind ways to helpsearch out and implement the boldest most innovative ways to be the difference."

November 16, 2008

What you're about to read may seem naive and impossible - you're right. BUT what if some "think different" people went to work on this - the bad news is the only problem is money, the good news is the only problem is money. Imagine the power, the legacy of Michael Jackson and the Beatles music curing cancer or alzheimers or providing clean drinking water or saving education everywhere.Imagine indeed. July 3, 2009

With the events of Michael Jackson's death...I am revisiting my original post from January 2007...

What if...Today the surviving members of the Beatles, Paul and Ringo wives Yoko and Olivia announced the creation of The Apple Core Foundation. Together Apple Inc. and Apple Corps. and Michael Jackson's estate will fund this foundation to benefit (insert four five causes). Starting today the complete Beatles digital music library will be available exclusively on iTunes. Further the lads from Liverpool and Michael's estate signed a 100 year grant whereby 100% of all proceeds from the Beatles music sold on iTunes will go to the Apple Core Foundation to battle (insert four causes) until they are defeated. Apple Inc. will distribute the music on iTunes at no cost to the project.

February 19, 2008

Giving is but one half of the equation. I work with a number of different causes and all sorts of fundraising events and methods. It would be hard, no impossible to make a case for one cause over another they are all worthy and passionate in their quests. So what is a giver to do? How do you differentiate? Give a little to each? a donation to juvenile diabetes Research this year & Susan Komen the next? And just how does one choose Susan Komen over Avon over American cancer Society over Lance?

So how do charitable organizations breakthrough? What motivates giving, to you? [That's the real question right?]

The answer is stories, you have to help people tell their stories. Make their stories part of your cause!

Here is a story from a young women Nicole Kenney who participated in her firstHeart Walk in Charlotte NC September 2007 on the Bank of America team...her story in part

I thought it was a great idea to make [photo] buttons to wear on the day of the walk. I knew just which picture I wanted to use. And you took the time out to find out exactly why I was walking and why I wanted to get the buttons made, which made me excited that people actually cared about my story. It was a nightmare that my family went through in losing my brother, but I finally felt like something good was coming from it: being able to educate others on the dangers of heart disease. The walk was a big piece of that, but so were the buttons. My mom even cried when she found out that I was getting buttons made. Both my mom and I wore two buttons each – one on the front, and one on the back, holding our sign in place (see the pictures for a better idea). Now, my mom wears her button almost everywhere with her, and I wear mine pretty frequently too.

Nicole had a story to tell. The photo buttons of her brother Bill were a powerful tool, a tangible expression of emotion. Nicole's and her team raised I think over $6000 because she had a story to tell and we helped her tell it. Motivated asking, it is the answer.

February 18, 2008

I am honored to be chosen as South Park (Charlotte NC) magazine's Snapshot for March 2008! Buttons of Hope is my passion & I hope this helps everyone understand just how powerful custom photo buttons & putting a face on your cause can be! | read full the article here

February 13, 2008

So. My other blog Behind the Button will focus on everything to do with my Buttons of Hope "business." You'll find stories from my customers, innovative fundraising ideas using photo buttons , buttons as powerful memorials, buttons as personal billboards to help find missing people and of course lots of thoughts on active charity fundraising for events like JDRF Walk to Cure, Relay for Life, Race for the Cure and more...

For all the rest of my right brain musings like my recent (ongoing) infatuation with Skitch, my Squidoo network, my new blog/squidoo consulting biz YouBlog and some random rants and raves about stuff like girl scout cookie sales, stuff that interests me -- that will be over on Behind the Button.

Will there be overlap -- sure (this one) -- occasionally I might even post almost the same post on both blogs -- but this is mostly for you the reader -- maybe the easiest way to explain it is makehope is for me & Behind the Button is for you!

January 17, 2008

Ooops I just realized I stopped posting here and gave my fans no where to turn --well now you have the opportunity to hear more of me in my newer blog Behind the Button. Please take look -- more of the same but a year wiser I think!

December 15, 2006

What do Jeff Brooks, his moleskine notebook and non-profits have in common....a lot. Great riff on the magic that a little passion gravy brings to everything. Jeff says, "I could get a notebook at the drugstore for under $2." But then that wouldn't be the same notebook used by Van Gogh, Hemingway or Picasso would it?

Jeff contends these pricey notebooks sell "Because this is a product that's better -- better features, better story." I think he's right especially the story part. Read Seth Godin's amazing All Marketers are Liars to learn more about the ubiquity and power of stories. Or/and see my next post for a link to a video of Seth Godin talking about liars & lying (its not what you think).

Back to Jeff he asks, "Can you do that with your nonprofit mission? Actually make it better?" As good as a Moleskine? Of course you can but how? There's a lot of talk about How do we get donors to give more? I think the more important question is How do we get donors to want to give more? Push versus Pull fundraising.

So basically find ways to make your programs and events more like a Moleskine notebook -- tell a story or wait....better yet have your donors tell their stories!

I unabashedly suggest Buttons of Hope as a way for you to help engage your people that already care about your cause. Help them put a face on their fundraising, tell their stories, personalize it "another notch" and then get out of the way. Its the passion...gravy!